1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to a discharge unit, and an image forming apparatus having the same, and more particularly, to a discharge unit which can reduce noise generated when a printing medium is discharged, and an image forming apparatus having the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a discharge unit is employed in an image forming apparatus, to discharge a printing medium, such as, printing paper, wallpaper, transparencies, or the like, on which an image, such as, a pattern, text, or the like, is formed.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a discharging process of a printing medium Pa, in a conventional image forming apparatus 10. As shown, an image is formed on the printing medium Pa, by an image forming unit (not shown), and is then fed to a discharging roller 40, after passing through a fusing unit 30. In this feeding process, the printing medium Pa is sharply bent between the discharging roller 40 and the fusing unit 30. A trailing edge Pe of the printing medium Pa collides with a wall surface of a casing 20, after passing through the fusing unit 30, as the printing medium Pa attempts to return to its original flat shape. As a width h of a feeding path of the printing medium Pa is increased, noise generated due to the collision with the wall surface of the casing 20, increases.
To overcome the above problem, it is possible to reduce the width h of the feeding path of the printing medium. However, the trailing edge Pe may collide with the wall surface of the casing 20, when the printing medium Pa is back fed in the direction of a dotted arrow b, for duplex printing, thereby obstructing the back feeding, or causing a jam.